Something better than a cycling bell.

Chomeur

I have a basic bell on my bike which is probably worth about £2. It's a bit lame really. Now that a lot of pedestrians seem to have decided that the advent of the 20mph speed limit, and the urgency of messages on their smartphones, make it appropriate for them to cross the road without looking to see if there is anything coming, I think that I could do with something a bit more potent to alert them of my approach. Any suggestions?

London50

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Air-Zound-Rechargeable-Horn/dp/B00JQN1ED4

Techno_Mystic

London50 wrote: »

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Air-Zound-Rechargeable-Horn/dp/B00JQN1ED4

Tempting....

But I have one of these. Fixed to my front stem with cable ties. Makes people laugh when I come up and toot behind them...

http://www.wilko.com/all-bike-parts-accessories/wilko-bicycle-bugle-horn/invt/0343819

London50

Techno_Mystic wrote: »

Tempting....

But I have one of these. Fixed to my front stem with cable ties. Makes people laugh when I come up and toot behind them...

http://www.wilko.com/all-bike-parts-accessories/wilko-bicycle-bugle-horn/invt/0343819

lol.. I just like the thought with my one of scaring the living daylights out of people that seem to have no respect both for road users and people walking while they a glued to looking at a mobile phone screen.
My generation used the telephone boxes if we needed to make a call and while carting a box around was frowned on at least we looked where we were walking when out and about;)

esuhl

I have an AirZound horn and it definitely comes in handy every once in a while. It instantly draws attention to your presence, so those inside motor vehicles can hear you, and pedestrians turn to look (so you have witnesses).

I'd never use it to alert a pedestrian directly, though! The AirZound is way too loud for that. A ding on the bell or a simple "excuse me" is usually enough. :-)

boliston

there is a guy on youtube called "york urban cyclist" who blasts an airhorn at pedestrians https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T25e2Go8JY

Chomeur

esuhl wrote: »

I have an AirZound horn and it definitely comes in handy every once in a while. It instantly draws attention to your presence, so those inside motor vehicles can hear you, and pedestrians turn to look (so you have witnesses).

I'd never use it to alert a pedestrian directly, though! The AirZound is way too loud for that. A ding on the bell or a simple "excuse me" is usually enough. :-)

I don't think a ding on the bell or an "excuse me" are enough, because they won't make pedestrians react fast enough if a collision is imminent. And talking or shouting is not that great because it doesn't identify you immediately as a cyclist - you might be another pedestrian.

The AirZound sounds too potent. What if the shock of hearing the sound makes someone jump back into the path of a car? I think I might go for a simple bugle style like Techno_Mystic suggests.

k3lvc

boliston wrote: »

there is a guy on youtube called "york urban cyclist" who blasts an airhorn at pedestrians https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T25e2Go8JY

Word on the local street is that there's a reward for the first person to shove his horn where the sun don't shine :rotfl:

esuhl

boliston wrote: »

there is a guy on youtube called "york urban cyclist" who blasts an airhorn at pedestrians https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T25e2Go8JY

Sigh. There's no need for that! It is infuriating when pedestrians jump in front of you because "you're not a car" but the cyclist wasn't even moving when the woman stepped out in to the road! No one had to take evasive action. An accident was never going to happen.

NBLondon

There's a guy I see in Central London who has an iPod dock and massive speakers strapped to his handlebars - you can definitely hear him coming!
Given the number of times I've seen a cyclist approaching and stopped at the kerb while an iPhone zombie walked straight past me - I can see why you might want something a bit louder and more distinctive than a bell.

curty510

although not a cyclist myself(am motorcyclist) my son has encountered similar issues on his pushbike. Due to most pedestrians walking around with earphones in/on mobile etc, he has found that since fitting his white flashing LED light to his bike the number of near misses has reduced.

ive always ridden motorcycles with headlights on, be seen, be safe. The need for really loud horns is excessive i feel.